


Politea's Revenge

by Kikurukina



Category: Winx Club
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Gen, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-20 14:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6011071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikurukina/pseuds/Kikurukina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her name was Politea, and she was the Guardian Fairy of the Infinite Ocean and the Protector of the World Pillars. And she was going to kill the woman who had used her. [AU continuation of season 5]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Politea's Awakening

May 14, 2013

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own or profit from the Winx Club properties by writing this story. This story is written for pleasure's sake. All rights reserved.

* * *

She was engulfed in darkness. Her eyes could not make out the faintest shapes and her ears were filled with the strangest sound. Sensation came back to her arms and legs slowly, the paralysis fading. Feeling came back to her fingers and toes and she stretched them, feeling ecstasy cascade down her spine. She shook away the dark fog that was clouding her mind. Then, she took what felt like her first breath in a long time.

And then she began to drown as she came to the horrible realisation that she was fully submerged in water. Water began to rush down her oesophagus and then her lungs excitedly looking for another space to fill. She opened her eyes and she felt her tear ducts about to burst. She struggled and flailed her arms. Extreme water pressure pressed on her ear drums with great ferocity. She pressed against the sharp jagged edges that enclosed her in darkness looking for air or an exit. She coughed violently as she tried to expel the water from her lungs. Fear consumed as she realised that she was in her own underwater coffin.

Then she remembered.

Her name was Politea and nothing but the flames of creation could destroy her.

She quieted her panicking mind and released the black energy that had laid dormant in her for years. Stones and clouds of dust flew out of her way in a violent underwater explosion and hit the walls of the darkened cavern. She expelled the water from her being and let her magic run up and down her body. She let the familiar power cradle and embrace her rapturously as she felt crimson and black wispy wings grow out of her shoulders. Her skin took on a white glow before turning to into a red and black corset of scales and a skirt made of rare white sea silk. Her legs were bedecked with the colours of an enraged venomous lionfish and the fins on her calves were just as poisonous. She radiated bioluminescent light from her body like a lantern fish.

As the dust settled, she took in her surroundings. She saw rays of light cut through the darkness like knives. She fluttered her fin-like wings and propelled herself forward to the light. As if waking up from a coma, her memories slowly began to trickle into her mind. She pulled herself to a stop beside a triangular pillar and shielded her eyes from the binding light.

Her heart stopped. Before her was a desolate and monotone wasteland of sand and rock occasionally dotted with red coral. There was no life in the Infinite Ocean, none that she could see for miles around. She bounded forward and eyed the cavern that had almost been her tomb. The gray mountain cut the sky with stunning height. The entrance was all to reminiscent of the jaw of a shark. She was at the Shark's Eye. She remembered that parents would warn their children to stay away from this cave because of the tiger sharks that ate selkies and young Serenians.

More memories returned to her mind as she contemplated the barren ocean around her.

She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Scenes of faraway battles flashed through her mind's eye. She remembered the glow of creation when the Great Dragon and the other gods had created the world she lived in. She remembered the three World Pillars she had been tasked on protecting. She remembered her eternal vigils being punctuated by battles, wars and people. She remembered most recently that her vigil had been interrupted by a woman with golden hair and a strange mask.

"Dafne," she uttered curiously. She repeated it again. It was strange on her lips. It brought pangs of rage and anger to her heart.

Finally, she remembered.

" _Dafne!_ " she screamed vengefully, remembering everything at once.

Her name was Politea, and she was the Guardian Fairy of the Infinite Ocean and the Protector of the World Pillars.

And she was going to kill the bitch who had used her.

* * *

 **Notes:** This the first time I've posted on AO3, so I don't if I'm using the archive features properly. This is a direct copy from the original version on FF.net.

* * *

(Feb 10, 2016) I'm going to use this part to explain what to expect in  _Politea's Revenge_.

\- This story was written just as season five was ending.

\- Season one through four are cannon, as well as  _The Secret of the Lost Kingdom_  and  _Magical Adventure_.

\- Season five, six, seven and any subsequent season are not cannon to this story.  _Mystery of the Abyss_  is not cannon. (I did not like that movie at all.)

\- I do employ elements or characters from season five and forward into the story, such as having Thoren and Nex in the story. However, their relationships with everyone else may be different.

\- Cinelume, Nickelodeon, DuArt or 4kids? I use a mix of the four. I grew watching 4kids and I loved it, but all the dubs have their pros and cons. Mostly, I'm relying on Cinelume, DuArt and Nickelodeon but I'm not afraid to look at 4kids elements.

\- Also, I write Daphne's name as "Dafne" because a long time ago, her name used to be written like that on the old toy packaging. It's the Italian spelling of the name, back when  _Secret of the Lost Kingdom_  came out. I use that spelling because it provides a level of separation between the Daphne in the show and Dafne in  _Politea's Revenge_.


	2. Empty Coral Reefs

May 14, 2013

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or profit from the Winx Club properties by writing this story. This story is written for pleasure's sake. All rights reserved.

I should probably note that this isn't going to be a character bashing fest on Dafne and Bloom. I think they're both equally good in their own respects and deserve the happiness they got at the end of season five. (However, Politea might have something to say to the contrary.)

* * *

Politea walked across the ocean floor, her eyes wide as sand dollars. Her steps stirred up the sand and disturbed the bottom feeding fish. All around her were the colourless coral-covered homes of her people. She had gone to the Pillar of Balance and the Pillar of Control and had not found a soul since she had awakened in the Shark's Eye.

There was little life in the Infinite Ocean, save for the occasionally immortal creature of the gods and some schools of fish. She had encountered the Singing Whales eternally humming the song of creation and she had avoided a devourer that had roamed too far from the warm waters of the Absolute Abyss. She peeked into the empty homes looking for signs of where they had gone and found nothing.

The colours of her scales began to take on a dark hue as she continued to find no signs of life for miles around. Nothing in the homes had been disturbed in what seemed like years. Sand had piled up thickly on long forgotten objects. Earlier, she had found abandoned hunting camps with spears and fyke nets buried under coral. The homes were just as desolate and abandoned. It was as if everyone had dropped what they were doing and left.

Frightened by the emptiness of the coral village, she made her way to the centre looking for the Pillar of Light.

Just as always, the Pillar of Light shone bright and strong. And just like the others, the seal was gone. Instead, she felt someone else's magic supporting the pillar. She touched the crystal tower and let the energy seep into her skin. It was warm, comforting and even dark, but completely…familiar.

She felt the Great Dragon's touch in the stream of magic and then something else's: Dafne's magic.

"So you got to here too," Politea hissed. The tower had been contaminated with impure magical energies that kept the pillar standing. She clenched her hands and turned, simmering with rage.

She kicked off the ground and propelled herself through the water. The pillars had been tampered with by the same magical essences. Dafne and several other people had broken the seals and repaired the pillars with their own magic.

Politea found herself heading for the Emperor's Throne. She was the fastest thing in the Infinite Ocean, and she had found herself fluttering for the Emperor's Throne in little time. She regarded the Throne. It radiated power—something it should not have been doing. She spiralled down to the legs of the seat and saw that the seals had been placed between the broken legs—legs that she had deliberately broken so long ago.

Someone had repaired the Emperor's Throne while she had been asleep in the Shark's Eye and she had a good guess as to whom. Dafne's magic littered the seabed and it was most potent at the base of the throne.

Politea grabbed the seals that floated between the chair's broken legs. Worlds would shake but for a moment as she broke the Emperor's Throne again. A great and invisible power kept them stuck in place, but she used her own magic and pulled the stone-shaped seals from their spots. She regarded the seals, one in each hand. They were lifeless now, their magic drained by the seat of power.

She had poured herself into these seals to protect the World Pillars. They functioned on her power and she had never imagined that she would have ever been away long enough for them to become dead. Evidently, they had been stolen away from their places in her sleep.

Her wings drooped as she tried to not tremble. All of her hard work was gone.

All of her people were gone.

All of life in the Infinite Ocean was gone.

Someone had the answers as to what happened and she knew who.

Raging with violent power, Politea poured her energy back into the stones. The seals greedily absorbed her power as they came back to life, becoming warm and potent. The feral power in them grew exponentially.

"Platon, Aristote, wake up!" she roared.

The seals shook out of her hands and took on a life of their own. Dark energy cocooned the stones and they grew in size until they obscured the light from the sun above the surface. She felt the water rush out of the way as the dark forms took shape. Cracks of light radiated from the dark eggs and finally, there was an explosion of power that blinded her.

Black snake-like forms spiralled around her. They had jaws like the devourers but none of the appetite. Their venomous spines brushed her but the protective mucus coating her skin made her immune. These sea dragons were the physical forms of the seals of the Pillars. They could not protect the Pillars when she had been asleep and she sensed their shame and regret.

She touched their heads comfortingly as they looked for their brother seal from the Pillar of Control. She thought that she would find Socrate but she did not. It was another question that Dafne had to answer.

Politea swam forward deep into the Infinite Ocean with her dragons following her. The lifelessness of the seafloor was starting to fatigue her eyes. She found the ancient Sirenix Gate and opened it with her power. Her power was almost infinite after such disuse.

Life and light poured out of the rings of the gate. The saltiness of the water changed as she passed through the portal. Hot energy rushed past her as she exited the water. With great trepidation, she wove her way through the streams of existence looking for the world she had visited once.

"Politea?"

The brunette fairy came to a stop as she looked for who had called her. Her eyes fell on a being of yellow energy, part fish and part person. She wavered beside a portal that emitted colourful lights and foreign music.

"Politea?" Omnia said, eyeing the sea dragons. "You're…alive?"

"I am." Politea regarded the undine guardian with levelled eyes.

"I thought that the curse of Sirenix…." Omnia fell quiet.

"Where's Dafne?" Politea asked curtly.

Omnia ignored the question, as though purposely. It was impossible for the undine-like being to have not heard the weighted question and feel the seething rage behind it. "Politea, what happened to you? I thought that the Ancestresses had cursed you."

"They did," she said impatiently.

Politea and Omnia eyed each other carefully. Omnia could sense the dangerous power that Politea radiated. Being accompanied by her sea dragons did not help to alleviate the tension. Omnia tensed, wondering how she should proceed. She felt unimaginable joy at seeing Politea alive but she felt nervous about asking what happened so many years ago. "What happened, Politea? Why didn't you join the Company of Light and fight the Ancestral Witches?"

"Because it wasn't my task. My task is to protect World Pillars from any who would use it for personal gain, and that included from Dafne." Politea narrowed her eyes.

"But Dafne never wanted the Pillars's powers, Politea," she reasoned, "She had a pure heart and only wanted to help you protect them from the witches. Even her Guardian of Sirenix can attest to that." Daintily, Omnia clasped her webbed hands in front of her to show that she was far from aggressive, yet her extended golden fin-like wings said otherwise.

The atmosphere was tense. It was as if no time had passed and they were picking up again a conversation that always resulted with the same answer.

"Is that what she told you?" Politea said.

"Politea, I am the Guardian of the Sirenix. I judge all who would dare to enter the Infinite Ocean," Omnia reminded. "It is my task to only let the worthy in and Dafne was worthy."

"She wanted to use the Pillars to turn the tides of war, Omnia. She wanted to use the Pillars for personal gain."

"How do you know this? None of that ever happened. The Army of Decay had decimated the capital of Domino in the last days of the war," Omnia said.

Politea's crimson wings stilled. "The last days of the war? Is the war over?" Politea asked.

"It has been almost twenty years, Politea. I believe that are some things that I need to tell you. Things have happened while you were…away."

"Regardless, Omnia, you incorrectly judged Dafne and let her into the Infinite Ocean."

"She wanted to help you keep the Pillars safe!"

"She wanted to keep the Pillars safe so that the war would fall in her favour," Politea answered sharply. "The affairs of the worlds beyond ours is none of our business. You failed in your task, Omnia. I'm not going to fail in mine. Dafne betrayed us and that's all that matters now."

Omnia scowled, if that was possible for an ethereal being like her. The streams of energy began to waver with power as Omnia radiated frustration. "I did what I thought was best! Dafne was your only friend for the longest time. You have been the same age you are now since the dawn of creation, Politea. I thought I would pity you and let you have a fri—"

Politea ignored her. Instead, she felt the powers that streamed in the in-between realms looking for Dafne's. She recognised Dafne's unique flame.

"Platon, eat her," she said as she swam for the portal near Omnia.

Omnia's eyes widening in shock was the last thing Politea saw before she plunged into the oceans of Andros. Politea had no time for the traitorous gate guardian that had willing let Dafne into the Infinite Ocean. Platon regarded Omnia gleefully as he set his sight on the undine guardian.

* * *

**Note:**  Oh, no! What monster has been unleashed unto the Magical Universe? Who is Politea really? And is Dafne as good as her little sister Bloom thinks she is? How tragic that the mistakes of twenty years ago will come back to haunt the present and ruin the peace that Bloom and the others had worked so hard to achieve.


	3. Crowning at the Sea's Edge

May 21, 2013

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own or profit from the Winx Club properties by writing this story. This story is written for pleasure's sake. All rights reserved.

* * *

"Son, I bequeath to you the title of Crown Prince of the Seas of Andros and name you my successor," King Neptune's voice boomed sonorously across the ocean waves and over the heads of the hundreds of lords, ladies and citizens that watched.

Almost the entire population of Andros's royal capital, and perhaps the kingdom as well, stood on the steep steps that led to the sea at the foot of the royal castle and on the surrounding parapets craning their heads for a view of the crowning at the sea's edge. Merpeople sat together on the ocean-washed stones that rose out of the water's low tide. Some surrounded the ocean pedestal that had been erected to offer a better view of the ceremonies. The pedestal was a three-tiered fountain structure where each tier was a deep circular pool that spilled water into the level below. The lower two tiers of the dais held high-ranking dignitaries and other important people from both realms above and below the water's surface. Those from the land sat on the edges while the lords and ladies of the ocean sat in the shallow waters of the pools.

In the top tier of the pool stood King Neptune and Queen Ligea. Princess Tressa stood behind them, watching and trying not to be overwhelmed by the immensity of the occasion.

For the first time in a long time, Tressa had forgone her traditional armour and shark tooth necklace and allowed herself to be dressed in the fineries of the ocean like a proper mermaid of Andros. An ornate circlet of pink pearls and sapphires was laced into her arranged crimson hair, falling over her shoulders. Her dress was a creamy jade stitched with glass beads. She looked delectably cute and even demure, not aggressive and voracious as a shark as she usually was, except that she held a golden trident in her hand. The trident was several heads taller than her and it gleamed in the sunlight. She held it tightly with its butt planted into the bottom of the pool. She could not hide the fact that she had lost a brother while another was promoted to Crown Prince. Even from afar, citizens could see the darkness in her golden eyes.

Prince Nereus knelt before his father. His salmon pink hair was braided with jade beads, denoting his warrior-hunter status, and he wore a myriad of shark teeth necklaces. His scales were darker than usual, showing on his chest, his arms and his face. His spear was placed in the water beside him. Nereus proved to be an intimidating figure, even when he knelt, but his face showed the crippling trepidation that clawed at his soul. He was not the warrior that everyone thought him to be.

 _This isn't right_ , Nereus thought.

 _This is wrong_ , Tressa thought.

"It is an honour that you would name me your Crown Prince, my king," Nereus pronounced.

Neptune unsheathed his sword and held it up in the light. Gently, he brought it down and tapped Nereus's shoulders with the broadside. Nereus felt the sword's ancient magic warm his skin and he shivered. He wanted none of its power imbuing him, not any more. It had been crafted by the smiths of the first King of the Sea and touched with the most potent of magics. This sword, and the throne that came with it, had destroyed his family in one stroke. For all its power, it could not undo the damage it had done.

_What a useless sword._

Nereus felt the weight of a crown be placed on his head as he felt his mother, Queen Ligea, brush his hair gently. If she felt any sadness about losing her son, she did not show it.

Nereus stood up with his spear in hand and looked at his father's scarred face. "I promise to defend the Seas of Andros and to work hand-in-hand with the world above ours. I will be merciful and compassionate. I shall know kindness and generosity, justice and pity. All lives are equal before my eyes. I rise now before you as Crown Prince Nereus of the Seas of Andros."

Nereus bowed deeply as he was cushioned by a thunder of applause from both the ocean and the land. The mernaids began to sing their songs of joy and celebration and the waters turned into a sea of colourful merpeople splashing water with their tails at him. Humans tossed seeds and flowers into the ocean as offerings to the newly crowned prince.

Nereus turned to the masses and eyed them wearily. They knew nothing of his and Tressa's pain and never would. He turned to King Teredor and Queen Niobe, rulers of the surface dwellers. They watched the procession sombrely. Their daughter Aisha sat surrounded by her five friends Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna. These six fairies had saved Andros, the ancient realm of the Infinite Ocean and his family. Above all, Aisha had fought the hardest. Not only did she go to war with her own blood from the ocean, she had to put aside her sadness about the lost of her fiancé Prince Nabu. It was not that long ago that Andros had lost a great prince, an excellent wizard and most importantly, a good man. In some ways, Nereus knew that the people would never recover, but Aisha had. Aisha had risen over her hardship and moved on, he could see. She was even smiling, and he was glad for it.

The people cried for a word from the prince. Nereus waited for the applause to die before speaking.

"Today is a sad day," he began. Nereus knew his father and mother were glaring daggers at his finned back as he ignored the speech he promised to tell. "Today, we acknowledge the fact that Princess Tressa and I have no brother. Prince Tritannus has been convicted of high treason and has been punished appropriately. Today, I watched my own twin brother enter a door that I know he will not come back from. Today, I lost both the brother and best friend that I have known since I took my first breath, and Tressa has lost her best hunting teacher. We were as close as two brothers could ever be. As we grew, we knew that our paths would diverge, and they did. We both knew that one of us had to become the Crown Prince. Even with magic, I cannot undo the dark thing that my brother had become and made us enemies. As they say about time, it is like a river and it flows in only one direction—forward. We can only learn from this tragedy. I cannot say, 'Harbour no hated nor envy.' It's impossible. We are only mortal. It's normal to be jealous from time to time. Instead, I say, 'Love your sibling, and love him well,' because inevitably, no matter how close we are, we all have different paths to take."

Nereus turned when he heard a clang. He saw that his sister had dropped the trident she had been holding. She was huddled in the shallow pool crying. Her mermaid handmaids rushed to bid her to stand up. Ligea averted her eyes in sadness.

The prince bade the people for a minute of silence for the fallen prince Tritannus. Nereus watched the people. He could see unmatched hatred in their eyes for what his brother had done. Others had some sombre faces and some of them had the mercy and compassion to pray for Tritannus's soul. Nereus whispered a prayer of his own and waited for his sister to recompose herself before continuing.

"Now, I have someone that everyone must meet. She's not the person I want to marry, I assure you," Nereus said lightly. He plastered on a fake smile to change the dark atmosphere he had created. The people roared in laughter as mermaids began to whistle their love songs futilely. "But she is nonetheless an important person to whom we the people of Andros must show our gratitude. She is invariably the woman who saved me, my family, both the worlds above and below the surface and all the waters of the universes. If you'll permit me, my king." He turned to his father.

King Neptune nodded and both he and Queen Ligea retreated. Nereus knew that they would speak to him later about that sad speech, but it had been cathartic for him. He felt that his shoulders had lightened.

"People of the land, people of the sea, and all visitors to the world of Andros, I bid you to welcome, Her Grace, Lady Dafne of Ruling House Draco, Princess of Domino, Guardian of Lake Roccaluce and Ethemera, Supreme Nymph of Magix and Keeper of the Dragon Flame."

His announcement was met with tense clapping and whispers. He saw people begin to converse in confusion and Nereus went on to clarify everything. He supposed that they had expected him to announce Bloom or Aisha, not someone who was supposedly dead. He could see Oritel planning to pick up his sword and ask him strenuously about the insult he was bringing to their family.

"In the years during the war against the Ancestral Witches, Princess Dafne had secreted away her younger sister Princess Bloom to Earth. After that, Princess Dafne was presumed dead defending the bloodline of her house. In truth, the Ancestral Witches had laid horrible curse on her and the powers of Sirenix. They had destroyed her mortal body and turned her into a spirit where she wondered the bottom of Roccaluce Lake in Magix for twenty years. When Tritannus began to lust for power, Princess Dafne set her younger sister on the quest for Sirenix to stop him from gaining the power of the Infinite Ocean. Princess Bloom had persevered through all the trials put before her by Dafne and helped me to bring Tritannus to justice. In doing so, she broke her sister's curse. Thus, I bid you to welcome Lady Dafne back to the world of the living."

Nereus gestured to the empty spot of water between the ocean pedestal and the steps to the royal castle of Andros. The flowers that the people had thrown into the water began to dance on the surface. The water began to illuminate with an orange and yellow flow as it took on a life of its own. It rushed and swirled and moved unnaturally. The air thickened with magic as the water began to rise out of the sea and form flesh and blood. The seawater molded into a tall glowing and dancing figure.

She wore a long bellowing gown of gold with her arms wrapped with silky scarves and bronze bangles. She floated on the surface of the water like a water lily. Her feathered headdress resembled a phoenix rising. The nymph's body danced on the surface, like an ethereal ghost, before coming to a stop.

Nereus felt the power that the nymph held. It was ancient and powerful and vast as the ocean he lived in.

The nymph faced the crowds of people, curtseying to everyone. Finally, she faced the bubbling pedestal. All the lords and ladies rose to get a better view of the dead princess.

Bloom held Stella and Flora's hands tightly as she tried to hold back her tears. Having someone else knowledge Dafne's exists made it feel like that Dafne was less of a ghost that only she could talk to and more like a human being.

She heard her birth mother Marion gasp audibly while her birth father Oritel rose to rush in and see for himself.

The nymph nervously brought her hands to her mask. She relished the feel of the water beneath her feet, the ocean spray on her skin and coolness of the wind between her fingers. The breeze made her dress flutter and could feel the fabric be pulled by the wind. Dafne removed the mask from her face and let the sunshine warm her face.

She looked to the faces on the pedestal and began to weep.

Marion and Oritel leapt off the edges of the pools and unto the shallow bridges beneath the water's surface. Marion looked to the golden nymph with wide unbelieving eyes and reached to touch her. She touched her gently, afraid that the girl was an apparition. When Dafne did not disappear, Marion screamed and brought the girl into her arms crying. Marion touched her face, her hair, her skin to see that she was real—and indeed, she was real as flesh and blood.

Nereus watched Bloom and her adopted parents Mike and Vanessa join Oritel, Marion and Dafne. They shared one large group hug surrounding Dafne. It was a beautiful sight to behold. No words could describe the joy of a family made whole after the end of a war.

However, one family had been broken so that another one could be fixed. It was indescribably and utterly unfair, and Nereus could not help but let righteous rage and envy blaze in his breast. Perhaps this was what Tritannus had felt, Nereus thought darkly.

* * *

 **Note:** Oh...well...I just created another monster. Hopefully, he will not turn out to be like his brother Prince Tritannus.

In the next chapter,  **The Sisters** , Dafne shows her 'true colours' as a daughter, sister, princess and nymph and reveals how she struggled to make the right choice to Bloom, but Bloom only wants her to bury the past. Is forgetting the past really the answer? Maybe Dafne is not the good sister that Bloom thinks she is.


	4. The Sisters

May 14, 2013

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own or profit from the Winx Club properties by writing this story. This story is written for pleasure's sake. All rights reserved.

* * *

 

Dafne spread the pilfered beach towel on the sandy shore and kicked off her shoes. The beach was small and nobody would be interested in such a small stretch of sand. She gingerly sat down and placed the laden plate of finger foods and bottle of fruit juice she had made off with from the kitchens beside her. She loosened the long aquamarine scarf around her neck and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she felt like she could breath easy again.

Music began to fade as the night continued on into its darkest hours. Dafne welcomed the oncoming darkness. She had spent so many years at the bottom of lakes and oceans with darkness as her only constant. She had never thought it would happen, but it did: her family had been reunited. Bloom had found her way back to the world of magic and her parents had been rescued from their bleak stone hell in Obsidian. The curse of eternal winter that had hung over Domino had thawed off. Now, they were on Andros celebrating Prince Nereus's promotion to heir apparent to King Neptune's throne.

Above Dafne were the six pale moons of Andros that shone light on the surface of the sea. Twenty years had passed without her and so many things had changed. She was glad to be away from the party. Standing with Bloom's friends, she had felt way too old to be with them and dance like them.

"Isn't there somebody you want to dance with? Like someone you have a crush on? I'm sure he would willingly dance with you," Stella had asked.

Dafne had given her a smile betrayed her real age. Despite still having her barely teenage body, her mind was far older. "The last boy I had a crush on…it was Prince Willis Kincaid. He is currently happily married to Lady Andrea with two children, I think."

"Well, that's awkward…" Stella had stuttered nervously and had promptly stopped trying to get Dafne meet some of the more available dignitaries and specialists.

After that, Dafne had kept to the shadows like a wallflower and spent the evening thinking about how she would pick up the pieces of her life. People had stared at her warily, namely because of the scarf around her neck. The long bluish green scarf that she wore symbolised her nymph-hood. It was a colour that only the sacred nymphs of Ethemera could wear, and apparently, she was the last one. It saddened her to think that she had been the only nymph to survive the war.

"Dafne, are you crying?" Bloom's worried voice interrupted her contemplation.

Dafne raised her head and saw Bloom tentatively making her way to her. Then she felt her face and realised that her face was not wet with sea spray, but with salty tears.

"I guess I am crying," Dafne admitted while wiping her face with a handkerchief.

Bloom sat down and held her older sister tightly to remind her that she had a real body. "What's wrong? Is it because of what Stella said? I mean, I know she's a little mean but she doesn't mean to hurt you."

Dafne smiled softly. "It's not that," Dafne tried to explain. "It's just I'm so glad the way things are now. Everything, it's been fixed. I never thought that this would happen. I thought that I would never see you again, Bloom."

Dafne let Bloom cradle her. She welcomed such a warm embrace. "You had been such a small child and we had rationed so much of our food to feed you. We watered down our milk a lot and I had been scared that it wasn't enough. I thought you had died after I sent you to Earth. I remember you used to cry so much because you were always hungry." Dafne raised a hand to her younger sister's face, as if to wipe away long gone baby tears.

Bloom kept awkwardly silent. She had no idea what to say to such a depressing admission.

Dafne straightened up and disentangled herself from her sister. "I'm so glad that your parents had found you and that they had learnt to love you unconditionally. I'm so sorry that I couldn't raise you or be with you. I had never meant to send you alone," Dafne confessed as she wiped her face with the kerchief again. The tears refused to stop falling from her eyes. "It's so hard seeing you as you are now. I want to know what happened to you in those sixteen years. I want to know what your favourite things were and what kind of childhood you had. I want to be your big sister and teach you things, but I can't anymore. You're all grown up."

Bloom struggled to find the right words. "Dafne, it's alright. Everything turned out alright. I mean, we can't always have things go our way but everything turned out better than expected," Bloom said, trying to placate her sister. She did not think she could find the right words to comfort her. How could she? There were no guides about how to comfort a sister that had essentially returned to the land of the living. "And there are a lot of things that you can still teach me. I have no idea how to be a princess. I wasn't exactly raised in a castle."

Sensing her younger sister's doubts, Dafne brought Bloom's head to hers. She lowered her voice conspiratorially, the way a sister would. "You shouldn't be ashamed of Mike and Vanessa, you should know. Mom and Dad owe them so much for raising you. In the old times, we would have given them wealth beyond imagination as compensation, but this isn't the old times and money does not make happiness. What we can do is make you into something they would be proud to call a daughter. One day, I'll teach you how to pretend eating the goldfish."

"Goldfish?" Bloom's brows arched in confusion.

"We eat goldfish because it's good for our skin."

"What! That can't be true."

"It isn't."

"Oh good. You were just joking. There are some things that I still don't understand about this world." Bloom let out a sigh in relief and brushed her unruly red hair out of her face.

"We still eat the goldfish, Bloom. It's just that it doesn't have any proven medicinal purposes to brightening our skin." Dafne flashed a smile made Bloom queasy.

"You can't be serious."

Dafne reached for the bottle buried in the sand and popped the top. She took a small sip. "The trick is to drink it with water and hold it in your mouth until you can find a discrete way to expel it—unless you actually want to eat the fish."

"I don't think I can do that." Bloom took a swig of the bottle and reached for the platter of hors d'oeuvres.

As the night continued on, the sisters looked up to the sky expectantly. Bloom looked at her phone for the time. The fireworks were supposed to go up any minute. They basked in each other's presence. Bloom's inner fire comforted Dafne. It was evidence that she had not completely failed when she had sent Bloom away.

"What happened to Politea?" Dafne asked as she let the sound of the waves crashing sing in her ear.

Bloom's lips stilled for a moment. She had not expected this question. "Darcy and Stormy had absorbed Politea's powers."

"And Politea?"

"She…faded away."

"She died?" Dafne craned her head to see her sister's face.

Bloom shrugged. She had no desire to talk about it and Dafne could sense it. "I don't know. It's hard to know what stays dead and what doesn't in this world. You're the prime example."

Dafne curled her toes in the wet sand. She saw yachts out on the dark ocean filled with dignitaries vying to get the best view of the fireworks. She saw merpeople's heads bob on the water's surface.

"Why do you care about her though? I thought she had betrayed you to the witches," Bloom said. She began to draw runes in the sand.

Dafne did not answer. Instead, she sighed and plopped herself back on the towel, stretching her limbs as far as she could. She looked to the stars and the moons, recognising none of the constellations of Andros.

"The war with the Ancestral Witches was much more complicated than that," Dafne explained. "Dad had his part of the war to fight on the frontlines of the Lemuries. He had to stop the Army of Decay from spreading their plague to the other nations. I think you know how they crystalise their prey and feed off their energy. You must have seen it in Magix. It was horrible. For three years, he wouldn't come home because he was afraid that he would get us sick or accidentally bring a parasite to the capital." Dafne gathered a ball of damp sand in hand as she explained. She was reluctant to bring up memories that she had spent twenty years forgetting.

"Mom had her battle to fight with the factions and other families who were secretly trying to get the Dragon Flame too. Everyday, she renewed the sacred barriers surrounding the city to keep the darkness out and banished cultists from the kingdom. As a family, we were doing horrible things to keep the realm together and our family on the throne. As for me, I was the last nymph of the Temple of Ethemera. Valtor and the witches had attacked Magix and sacked the temple of its relics. They had killed all the acolytes and the nymphs. The only reason I survived was because I tried to stay at Alfea and fight the army coming down from Shadowhaunt."

"But Politea betrayed you. She didn't do anything when the Ancestral Witches took away your body in the Infinite Ocean," Bloom said.

Dafne raised herself on her elbows to look at Bloom's face. "Bloom, is that what you saw in the Room of Faraway Reflections?"

"Well…yes," Bloom said after she thought long and hard about what she had seen.

"Are you saying that she betrayed me because she didn't do anything to stop the witches? Or are you saying she betrayed me because I'm your sister and you helplessly watched me die, so to speak?" Dafne said carefully.

Dafne was splitting hairs and she knew it. Bloom knew that she did not mean for it to come off as hurtful or accusatory, but Bloom could still feel the question burn her ears. Bloom had no idea how to respond. There was a fine difference between the two things Dafne had said.

"Dafne, I don't want to talk about this. It's all over now," Bloom evaded. "Anyways, none of this matters anymore." The orange-haired girl avoided Dafne's eyes.

Dafne did not need to hear Bloom's answer as she could read it on her face. Over her years watching her, she had learnt what kind of girl Bloom was. She was one of the bravest people ever born. She had thrown caution to the wind and embraced magic. She had left her only home and the people who had loved and raised unconditionally despite being an orphan, and ventured back into world she had came from. She had fought some of Cloud Tower's nastiest witches and defeated Valtor, but Bloom was incapable of facing her own inner weaknesses and feelings.

Dafne sat up and sighed. She thought long and hard as she stared at the endless expanse of ocean before them and then, she turned to Bloom. Bloom's bright blue eyes had a doe-like fragility and innocence. Bloom had turned out to be all that Dafne and her parents could have ever hoped for and more, and she was afraid that what she was about to do would break the quiet familial joy that surrounded them. However, Bloom needed to understand and Dafne knew that she would be strong enough.

"Bloom, I'm going to show you something right now. Something you should never to share to another soul, not even your friends or our parents. I'm not doing this to warn you. I'm doing this to scare you and to show you the difference between good and evil because I love you."

Dafne stood up and stepped her bare feet into the sea foam that washed the shore. She waded deep into the water until she was thigh deep.

Dafne's body started to glow white with mystic power as she disappeared under the surf. Bloom felt the small fire in Dafne ignite and take shape as ocean waves engulfed her body. Flowing with the energies of transformation, the water wrapped around the older sister like a cocoon. Bloom gasped as she felt the surrounding energies pour eagerly into the cocoon. It was wondrous and immense, filled with purity and virtue until she felt the black power seep out of the light. Alarmed, Bloom stood up and tried to move her legs to maybe save her sister but could not. Her legs were rooted to the sand. The source of darkness was undeniable. Finally, the surf retreated back to the sea and revealed Dafne.

Moonlight shimmered off her wet fin-like wings and scale-covered chest. Her blue and gold wings were streaked black. Her crimson mane turned back to its usual gold as water dripped down her back. Bloom thought she had imagined that there were black streaks among the ivory ones. Dafne's long hair was held back with a crown of coral. As she stepped out of the surf, she revealed to have a golden top stopped with dark patches and a necklace of pearls and ribbons. Her floor-length cream silk skirt dragged heavily against the sand like shackles and her legs glinted like silver and gold coins. Again, more ink black blots striped her legs giving her the appearance of a golden tiger stepping out of the ocean.

"Dafne?" Bloom stuttered. She was not sure if the person that had stepped into the ocean was the same one that was coming out of it. She eyed all the black stripes and spots that were on her sister. They were shiny like the sludge stains of the Trix's Dark Sirenix forms. "Dafne, what are you?"

Dafne raised her arms and presented herself to her little sister. "This is what Dark Sirenix looks like on a fairy. The universe brands us black and makes our wings rot if we go back on our vows. I promised to help keep the Infinite Ocean safe when I undertook the quest and I broke that promise."

"You have Dark Sirenix!" Bloom's mouth became dry as she uttered those words. Saying it aloud made the red-haired girl shiver in fear.

Slowly, the ebony muck began to retreat from her scales and wings as the older sister stepped out of the water and dried off.

"This is the sickness that will eat at you if you disappoint the gods. We do not define what is good and evil in this world, the gods do and they have decided to show it like this. Mom and Dad have never seen this part of me and I don't want them to ever see it." Dafne shook her wings to wring them of water as they turned back to bright gold and blue.

"What did you do that made you like this?" Bloom managed after she stilled her racing heart.

She could feel the energy around Dafne sizzle and simmer like hot oil hitting water. It was neither cold, chaotic nor dark as the Trix's powers, but something much more explosive and violent.

"I did it for you, and Mom, and Dad. I thought that maybe I could use the powers in the Infinite Ocean to keep our family together and win the war. I thought that the gods would turn a blind eye to what I was doing. They didn't. The Great Dragon and the other gods don't care for what purposes we use these powers, just as long as it's not for personal gain in mortal affairs. I betrayed all the gods, the selkies and Omnia. Most of all, I betrayed Politea when she had helped me the most to get my powers, Now, I have to carry this curse until I die."

"But that's not fair!" Bloom trembled. "You were doing it to protect our parents and the kingdom. You lost your body trying to save me! This isn't fair!"

"I know," Dafne said. There was not a hint of regret in her voice.

Bloom's eyes began to glisten with tears. Everything she had worked for to bring her sister back to the mortal realm seemed inconsequential now. She had thought that everything would be perfect with her birth family as soon as she brought Dafne back to them. She thought that Dafne could fix the hole in their hearts and be the exemplary daughter and princess they wanted, but bringing Dafne to them as she was now would crush them. Bloom knew it for sure.

Dafne stepped to Bloom, reaching for her little sister's hands.

Bloom recoiled violently as she felt incredible power burn her. Dafne's dark power was so black that it could even burn the Guardian Fairy of the Dragon Flame. Afraid, Bloom took a step back as Dafne hung her head in shame. Bloom could not bear the incredible black power surrounding Dafne, but this woman was her sister and her savior. She could not walk away from her. Dafne had given so much for Bloom to survive and live a normal life.

Bloom shrouded herself in a protective aura and wrapped her arms around Dafne. It hurt to hold her but she knew that Dafne hurt even more. Bloom felt hot tears stain her shirt as Dafne began to weep from pain that Bloom knew she could not heal with magic or medicine.

* * *

Next chapter, **The Sea Aflame**! Politea is back and roaring for the blood of a nymph. Too bad she doesn't get the right nymph.


	5. The Sea Aflame

July 20, 2013

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own or profit from the Winx Club properties by writing this story. This story is written for pleasure's sake. All rights reserved.

 **Fore note:** What I had originally envisioned to happen in this chapter made it too long. I decided to cut it into several parts so that they were much easier to organise.

Also, before anyone gets up in my grill about sailing terms, I researched as much as I could to integrate accurate sailing terms. I am by no means an expert in sailing.

* * *

The Torchbearer rocked gently on the calm waters of Andros' sea.

Oritel, the Sovereign King of Domino, brought up a beer as he ascended the ladder to the top of the pristine white yacht. The yacht was one among dozens anchored out in the cove below the royal home of the King Teredor and Queen Niobe. Oritel and his wife had changed out of their ceremonial dress not long ago after they had gotten away from the dozens of parties. They wore light and casual clothing appropriate for the humid air of the night and had sailed out far from the shore to watch the oncoming midnight fireworks on the ocean. In the distance, they could see King Teredor's flagship the Andromachus prepare to launch the fireworks from its main deck. He joined his wife on the plush couch on the foredeck as he opened a can of beer. He needed it to calm his nerves.

Marion folded and unfolded her hands nervously. "I never thought that this would happen," she said hoarsely. Ever since she had laid her hands on Dafne during Prince Nereus's coronation, she had been continually weeping and holding onto Dafne, fearing that she would fade away. Oritel had been guilty of doing the same thing, too.

Both of them had run the gamut with their emotions.

A few weeks ago, they had learnt that their only living daughter, who had grown up with strangers on a faraway planet, had undertaken the same quest that had destroyed their first daughter. To say that they were upset about Bloom's choice was a great understatement. At first, they had outright forbidden her to pursue the Sirenix quest and search for the Gems of Virtue, but by the time they had learnt about Bloom's decision, she had already accepted the consequences and had irrevocably set herself on the same path that had destroyed Dafne. They had been sure that Bloom would destroy herself and all they could do was support her in her decision. Marion had not slept well since then and it showed on her face.

Then this very morning, Prince Nereus had the nerve to unveil a startling joy and horror that had rocked both his and and his wife's lives: the curse on Dafne had been broken and she had been returned to them in front of thousands of witnesses.

Neither of them had been prepared for it, and now they had to face it. Dafne was back among them with a flesh and blood body.

Holding her in his arms, almost every regret the king ever had had melted away. All Oritel could do was cry and praise the Great Dragon and the other gods for showing him mercy and giving him this chance to fix his family.

Facing Dafne as a spirit had been impossible for Oritel. The constant reminder of her immaterialness was sign of the mistakes he had made in the past. Facing her now, perhaps he could start with a clean slate and be the father that she deserved, he thought to himself as he stared at the swelling waves.

"I never thought that Bloom would take on the same Sirenix quest and succeed," Marion continued. "I never thought I would be able to hold her again, or even both of them. I was so sure that Bloom couldn't do it by herself. I mean, with Dafne, we had taken away so much from her and she had never complained once. Somehow, Dafne had still managed to get Sirenix and fight the Ancestrresses in the Infinite Ocean."

"Bloom is lucky to have good friends," Oritel replied. Bloom is lucky to just be  _alive_  after sixteen years, he thought. "Dafne was always too busy…doing the things she did." The man contemplated wearily the distance he had to overcome between his two daughters.

"She's quieter than before," Marion added. "I know that there's something she's not telling us but I don't know how to ask her. She doesn't want to look us in the face. She doesn't want to be near us. I know we made mistakes with her but…." The woman sobbed, unable to finish her sentence. Shame and disgust left a horrible taste on her tongue. "Before Valtor came, I forced her to run away with Bloom and made her promise to raise Bloom on her own. What kind of mother does that?"

Marion covered her face with her hand before running it through her curled tresses. She wallowed in self-pity before taking a gulp from Oritel's beer. She felt like drinking herself into a stupor so that she would not have to think. The tragedy that had befallen their family was almost too much to bear for their minds.

"Let's send her back to school," Oritel suggested as he removed the can from her hands. "We made her drop her studies in that last year because of what was going on. We owe her that much."

As the king of a kingdom that had been frozen in ice for so long, the only thing he could do for his people was keep calm and carry on. He had to pretend as if twenty years had not passed by him and adjust to the changes of the future, or rather present.

"Do you still want her to succeed you?" Marion said.

"I will give her the choice," he promised. "If not, I could give her the duchy on the south end of the kingdom. The Yellow Reef should make her happy. I said things to her…" Oritel shared, cringing.

"What happened?"

"I think I said things to her that a father shouldn't say to a daughter," Oritel admitted. He crossed his arms defensively. In some ways, he had been comforted by the fact that everything he had done was justified. He had been a desperate man and even more desperate king doing terrible things. "I said horrible things and I regret them."

Marion scrutinised the man. She did not mean to sound vindictive, but the emotional of toll of the last few months were eroding at her self-restraint. "What did you say to her?"

"Mari, this was years ago—"

"That's nearly twenty for Dafne. We didn't know that time had passed by when we were in Obsidian, but Dafne did," she reminded viciously. "Dafne could have spent years hating us and she might still hate us."

"I'm not going to repeat it here and now!"

Oritel knew that his wife's nerves were frazzled by the day's events and that all he could do was support her. He knew he had to be patient with her. Marion, a great and powerful practitioner of the mystic arts, had berated herself the most for her inability to break Dafne's curse. She had raised Dafne during her most crucial years as a budding teenager while he had gone off to war with the Army of Decay for three years. To say he regretted leaving his first daughter during some of the most important years of her life would be a lie. He regretted not being there to teach Dafne about boys and how to not fall in love with them.

Oritel leant forward to reach for the beer on the table but Marion snatched it first and threw it down to the lower deck.

"Fine!" Oritel surrendered when he saw that there was no way of avoiding the direction of the conversation. "I told her once that she should devote her time to the war we were fighting in the Lemuries and not walking the bottom of the damn ocean floor looking for purportedly magical gems."

Oritel's knuckles began to whiten. "This was early in the morning when I had come back from a failed spec ops. I was tired and angry and I had made mistakes in my calls. I'm sorry if I took it out on her." The man's voice was thick and measured.

"How could you, Oritel!"

"Marion, you weren't any better than me! You razed the cities looking for witches. You sent away some of her friends, perfectly good-willed children, because they were witches who did not worship the same god as us. You're as much to blame as me!" the man said finally.

Marion crossed her arms and wrapped her shawl tightly around her as she leaned against the railings. She looked to the waves crushing against the Torchbearer's hull as she could not bear to look at her husband. She started to cry again, letting the tears fall freely. It seemed that all she ever did was cry. "We are horrible parents," she let out after a long sob.

"I know, but it's all over now. We have a chance to fix it," Oritel said, trying to find the glimmers of light in the situation.

They had never imagined a world where Dafne would come back to them in the material world, not after they had learnt about her twenty years spent at the bottom of Lake Roccaluce. They had come to terms with the permanency of Dafne's strange curse. Now that she was back, it horrified both of them that they had to face the mistakes they had made as parents.

As far as Marion and Oritel could tell, Dafne had never held any anger or sadness towards them for the ruined childhood they had given her. Every time she had spoken to them since Domino had thawed, she had always spoken gently and kindly, as if she had forgiven them and that she was happy that at least Bloom had come back to them.

How idiotic of them to be content with just having one daughter back.

"This is what we're going to do," Oritel started. "We're all going to go home—with Bloom, Mike and Vanessa, too—and we're going to figure this out. We're going to have a long talk and fix our family and the kingdom, Mari."

Oritel stood up to enclose his wife in his arms. Instinctively, she clamped her arms around his waist and held unto him tightly.

Just then, fireworks began to light up the sky in bright hues of red, orange, blue and green. Marion and Oritel were deafened by the successive sounds of explosions speeding towards the stars. The fireworks took on the form of fantastical creatures and came to life in the sky. Shimmering blue lights became pegasi and raced each other across the sky while a great red dragon breathed fire and created the first creatures of the universe. Nine different coloured fireworks sped up into the sky and became winged figures with their arms raised to the red dragon's fire. These fireworks were tableaux of the universe's moments of creation.

Without warning, the yacht churned violently as it was hit by a particularly large wave. Not wanting to go overboard, Oritel held unto the railing and his wife for dear life as they let the succession of furious waves pass.

"What was that?" Marion asked incredulously, looking what had caused the waves. She looked over to the distance saw that the frigate Andromachus had become a blazing pyre upon the sea as an impossibly huge dragon's head rose from the depths and assaulted the ship.

* * *

In the darkness, the triple deck Thunder Spirit began to struggle against its anchors as tsunami waves threatened to capsize the ship. It was the traditional luxury cruiser personally owned by King Erendor of Eraklyon. It was manned by a crew of ten that also included the king, his son Prince Sky and the prince's personal protector known as Brandon. The remainder of the crew consisted of the various royal guards and trusted navy officers of the imperial army.

Diaspro cursed herself for wearing heels and found herself flying across the posh interior of the second deck. Her bottled pink cider flew out of her hand and splashed across the tinted windows. Her head smashed against the indestructible glass causing her to yelp in pain.

She looked across and saw that Sky had hit the window as well and had fallen to the floor.

"What was that?" the blonde princess moaned.

"Tsunami?" the prince said as tried to recompose himself. He tried to sit up and only found himself bracing for another wave.

Diaspro found herself holding on to the wraparound couch as she felt herself leave the floor from the force of the oncoming wave.

Above deck, Erendor and Samara had hit the deck hard.

"Weigh anchors!" Brandon yelled into the radio. The squire clambered into the upper deck's pilot's seat and tossed brightly coloured life jackets to his liege lord and lady. He started the engine as soon as he heard that the anchors were out of the way of the propulsion.

Without a second thought, he began to shift the wheel to the left as fast he could so that the Thunder Spirit would cut through the waves and not crash into the approaching perilously jagged rocks. Soon, the ship began to fly over the waves, but that was not any better. The crew and passengers rode the ship like a daredevil's rollercoaster.

Heading for sea and hopefully calmer waters, Brandon strapped on a life jacket. He blared the sirens, warning any sea creatures to stay out of the way of the luxury ship.

Inside, Sky and Diaspro huddled under the bolted down table. Knickknacks rolled across the floor.

"Who in the frozen hells of Omega would dare attack now?" Diaspro screamed in desperation.

"What makes you think this is an attack?"

"When is it  _not_  an attack, Sky? There's powerful magic in the—" Diaspro interrupted herself as she came to a horrible realisation. She could feel the old magic ride atop the waves assaulting the Thunder Spirit.

"Diaspro?" Sky said.

Diaspro climbed to the top of a couch and looked out the porthole. She held on as she rode another brutal wave. Sky joined her and they looked over the ocean.

No words came out of their mouths. The sea was on fire from one end of the cove to the other trapping the dozens of yachts including the Thunder Spirit within. The fires and the wild fireworks from the sinking Andromachus lit the ocean bright as day. They saw an enormous long-necked creature rise from the depths and spit thunder unto the Androsian flagship. The vessel ignited into explosions of colour as crewman began to abandon ship. The horrible creature was equal in size to the Andromachus and began to slam its body into the ship.

"We're trapped," Sky said eyeing the fire that was eagerly spreading across the water. The waterproof materials used to make the fireworks had gotten into the water and caught fire. Just like Brandon and the rest of the crew, Sky knew that they needed to get to the open sea to avoid further bombardments from rampant waves.

Their eyes widened as they saw another brutal wave headed them. This one was impossibly high, at least ten meters tall and teeming with force. The Thunder Spirit cut through the wave and rode down its steep back.

Without warning, they saw Erendor fly through the air from the upper deck unto the wraparound deck around their compartment. The large man hit the deck hard with his back, making Sky and Diaspro cringe. Their stomach churned as they watched him slide across the floor unmoving.

"Dad!" Sky roared. He climbed to the forward hatch and opened it, letting a spray of seawater come in.

"He's not moving," Diaspro shouted.

The prince rushed to his father, urging him to get up. In an instant, the prince's face fell. Without delay, the blond knelt at the older man's head and began to drag him across the wet deck. Diaspro kicked off her heels and ran to help Sky bring in the king.

"Please, sir, don't close your eyes," Diaspro urged the king as they tucked him under the safety of the table.

Sky began to rip out couch cushions and nestle his father in a cocoon of pillows. "Dad, where does it hurt?" he said desperately.

The king mumbled about his pain.

"I need a crystal or a stone," Diaspro asked hurriedly. She eyed all the rolling objects in the room. Sky undid a black stone pendant from his neck and tossed it to the princess.

Diaspro placed the stone on Erendor's chest and concentrated. " _Elixir_ _waves,_ " Diaspro chanted as she covered the black crystal with her hands and fed her power into it. Rays of powerful light radiated from between her fingers. She exchanged her magical energy and took on the king's pain, hopefully staving off the worst of his injury.

Samara, drenched in sea water, arrived coming down the ladder from the upper deck. Brandon climbed down to the main deck and made for the wheelhouse below.

The enormous creature attacking the Andromachus was causing tsunami-size waves in the cove and pushing all the ships to the rocky shores. Effectively, most of dignitaries and members of high society that were on the yachts littering the cove were trapped between self-immolation and a watery grave.

Diaspro groaned, biting her lip before she would scream in pain. The king's pain was unimaginable as she poured her magic into the injured man. She put the pain in the back of her mind as she chanted the ancient words of healing. She had spent years studying the healing nature of stones and crystals alongside the young Princess Krystal of Linphea at the Royal University of Samarion.

Samara knelt beside Diaspro before the blonde girl could faint.

"You did well. I can watch him from here on," the queen said. The tall woman was shivering and freezing from her torrential shower in sea water, but nonetheless, it did not stop her from seeing to her king.

Samara put a hand to Erendor's face, coming to a grim decision. She had seen the fires and the monster outside. Thinking of the severity of the situation, she turned to the prince and princess. "Sky, Diaspro, I need you two to get back to the shore now. If your father doesn't—"

"Understood," Sky said quickly. He refused to let his mother finish her sentence. They shared a wordless exchange with their eyes.

Diaspro looked on, swallowing hard. For the first time in a long time, Sky obeyed his parents. This did not mean that the blond prince was a disobedient son. Inwardly, his heart raged against the decision he had reached. The man did not want to leave his mother and father, but he knew he had no choice. The last time he had disobeyed his parents was in Magix when the Army of Decay had attacked and he had refused to leave his post at Red Fountain. A little wiser and tempered with restraint, he would not make the same mistake again. This time, he would leave on his parents's wishes.

"I'll be back, Mom. Count on it. Just take care of Dad," Sky said as he slid towards the aft hatch. He caught Diaspro as the Thunder Spirit rode another vicious wave.

"Remember, duty above all," Samara said.

Diaspro and Sky looked to the wet queen huddled over her injured king, something they had never wished to see.

They lowered their heads before descending down the ladder towards the wheelhouse where Brandon and the several other crewmen that managed the ship. Without a word, Brandon left the wheelhouse and joined the other princelings. He knew that something was up.

"What's going on?" Brandon said. One look at Sky's face told him all he needed to know about the severity of the situation.

The three of them brace themselves against the stairs and emergency ladder.

"We're going back to shore," Sky said. The prince struggled to pronounce his words with determination. Brandon did not need the horrible truth to be spelt out for them.

They were leaving to assure the line of succession of the throne of Eraklyon and continue the thousand year reign of the royal family. Erendor was in bad shape and the circumstances—tsunami conditions and raging fires that trapped the boats in the cove—only worsened his chances of surviving.

Exiting through the aft hatch, the three of them were instantly drenched in ice cold water.

Brandon and Sky raised their hands to the sky. Ancient runes glowed in their hands as they summoned their dragons. Two portals appeared in the sky and silvery green and blue warm-blooded creatures let out hisses and searched for their riders. The dragons were thin and wiry, much like snakes, with colourfully large wings meant to distract and terrify its prey. Their claws and tails were sharp as swords and their jaws had the strength to maul a small car.

They rode another rough wave on the Thunder Spirit before signalling their dragons to fly by. With courage and good timing, they jumped off the deck on the ship and unto the back of their mounts.

Diaspro eyed the distance between the ship and the dragon. Sky extended a hand to her. The blonde princess jumped unto the back of the beast. Sky pulled her up and Diaspro found herself sitting between Sky's legs holding onto the dragon's neck.

"This is awful. Who could possibly be doing this?" Diaspro said.

"Who knows," Sky said.

They circled around the cove and saw that the carnage extended into the town. The capital had been built high enough from the shore to avoid most of the devastating blows of the sea, but it had never been built in mind that a sea dragon would be capsizing a ship right in the cove and generate waves that would easily go over the sea walls. The city-wide sirens blared tsunami and storm warnings shrilly.

"Dear gods, the thing is going into the cove!" Diaspro screamed. She eyed the Thunder Spirit that was helplessly close to the attacking sea creature.

Sky's eyes widened in horror. The prince almost turned his dragon back to return to the Thunder Spirit, but he knew better than to return. Ashamed, he urged on his dragon forward toward the political capital. Diaspro struggled to dislodge herself from Sky's grip. He knew what she wanted to do.

"Diaspro, you're going to fall!" the prince reprimanded as he kept a tight grip on the princess.

"But your dad, Sky! The king!"

"We can't go back now."

"We can't let him die! Let me go, Sky!"

Sky's dragon let out a hiss as its riders began to struggle on its back.

"I know he's my father! And he's my king, too! We have to get back to the embassy and rally the remaining guards," Sky shouted over the still exploding fireworks to the struggling princess. Like her, he struggled to not fly back to his father's ship. However, he knew that his duty now was to stay alive and assure the line of succession, even if that meant abandoning his mother and father.

* * *

It had been too late before Dafne could notice the unusual receding surf and than the sudden influx of rough water that nearly smashed her and her sister Bloom to bits against the rocks.

" _Hallowed_ _shield,_ _"_  Dafne quickly shouted, cradling her little sister tightly.

A shining bubble of golden light appeared around the older blonde and younger red-haired sister that cushioned them from their crash into the rock shelf behind them. The sea knocked them into the seawall for what seemed like hours, keeping them trapped underwater.

Bloom watched her older sister's hair change in colour. The powers of Sirenix did extremely odd things to a fairy's appearance. Not only did it strengthen their bodies to withstand the tremendous forces of the ocean, it gave them colourful scales, fins and strange wispy wings that had initially made Bloom uncomfortable. Sirenix had completely changed her physical body and how she felt in it. Her body flowed easier in water and eliminated the need to breathe oxygen. The scaled clothing was far from her usual idea of what a classical fairy should look like. Instead, Sirenix had given her scale-covered suits that stuck to her skin uncomfortably and hair that changed colour in water.

Out of water, Dafne's golden blond hair only had streaks of ivory. In the water, Dafne's hair faded to deep crimson, darker than Bloom's natural colour, and with creamy white streaks.

Then the black sickness started to appear. It originated from Dafne's blue and gold wings. The dark sludge crept up from over her shoulders and under her arms, claiming her limbs. Obsidian streaks started to appear alongside the white ones in her hair.

Bloom felt a stain of sludge appear under her hand and shivered in terror. It was alive and moved with the leisure of a snake.

"Dafne, you can let me go," Bloom urged as she eyed the black curse of Dark Sirenix coming over her sister with great alarm. Sickeningly, she could not help but think about how she wanted nothing to do with the black curse overcoming her sister. "Let me transform into Sirenix."

Dafne recoiled her arms when she realised how tightly she was holding Bloom. Seeing Bloom eye her curse in terror, Dafne pushed her away. She stared at her hands seeing the black sickness spread to her knuckles.

Both of them were afraid of the same thing: if Bloom touched Dafne while she was in the throes of the Sirenix sickness, would it infect Bloom too? The revolting thought made Dafne's stomach turn.

Crossing her arms, Bloom gathered the magic in her and left it rush through her body.  _"_ _Magic_ _Sirenix!_ _"_

Bloom was overcome in a cocoon of fire that blinded the older sister. Bloom radiated the creative fire of their dragon god brightly. The flames disappeared in an instant and Bloom reappeared in her hot blue scales and delicate pink wings. Her hair, currently bright orange with teal stripes, was gathered in a crown of blue coral.

Calming their racing hearts, both sisters swam up to the surface. They braved a wild wave that sent them back underwater before propelling themselves out of the sea and into the air. The dark curse retreated on Dafne's skin.

Both of them saw the chaos on the sea's surface. The water was illuminated blood red from the bright fires.

"What's happening?" Bloom said.

Dafne eyed the massive blaze of fire on the horizon. It bellowed smoke into the air that obscured the moons. "We have to get to Mom and Dad," Dafne said. She began to speed off above the waves.

Bloom wiped her face of the trail of sea spray Dafne left behind and said, "But what about the other people?" Bloom's heart knotted as she watched her sister ignore several ships in distress.

"The Crown on our House comes first, Bloom," Dafne said unyieldingly. Her tongue had felt thick and fuzzy when she had said that. A nymph would have never anything so insensitive and single-minded, but a princess the Ruling House Draco of Domino would have.

"But, Dafne! We can't just ignore the other people," she objected, speeding after her sister. Bloom passed by a ship brutally battered by the rogue waters. Bloom caught her sister by her wrist and slowed her to a stop.

"And if we lose Mom and Dad?" Dafne said, wide-eyed and almost screaming desperately. "I'm not losing them  _again_!"

Bloom felt her sister's word burn her like hot iron on her skin. Nothing would budge Dafne from her course. In Dafne's words, Bloom heard all of twenty years worth of pain, sadness and lost come to the surface. Dafne knew first hand the pain of watching her family die. She had seen first hand their parents Marion and Oritel be sent to the stone hell of Obsidian to die while she herself had sent her baby sister Bloom to an ambiguous fate on Earth. Dafne alone had bore the pain of mourning them all while she had been cursed to a bodiless form and passed many long and lonely years at the bottom of Lake Roccaluce thinking on her mistakes. Bloom could see the result of what all this pain had caused and feel the desperation that Dafne felt.

Terrified, Bloom let her sister go and followed after her looking for the Torchbearer, their family's royal yacht.

"There!" Dafne said.

Blue fire in the shape of a serpentine dragon danced in the air. The blue fire was a symbol of their mother Marion's magic. Converging on the blue dragon, Bloom and Dafne fluttered around the Torchbearer that was trying to stay afloat. Marion and Oritel clung to the railings of the deck as they rode another wave that drenched them from head to toe.

"We can't dislodge the anchor from the seabed," Oritel explained in the chaos. "I need you two to cut us loose."

"When we're free, I want you to help me lift the boat out of the sea," Marion shouted.

"Lift a boat?" Bloom said incredulously.

"It's okay. I got it," Dafne said. "Take care of the anchors, Bloom. I'll help Mom." The older sister looked meaningfully to her younger sister.

"Right!" Bloom answered. She looked to her sister worriedly. Hesitating, she climbed steeply in the air before gaining enough momentum to pierce the sea with a nose dive.

She was disoriented by the chaos that was below the surface. It was just as bad as it was above. Merfolk swam about crazily like schools of frenzied fish looking for a safe place to escape the brewing storm as ships capsized and sunk left and right and their contents littered the seafloor everywhere.

Bloom swam under and far from the Torchbearers propellers and followed the chain that led to the troublesome anchor. The anchor was hidden in a forest of dark seaweed and stuck in fissure of stone. She tested the anchor to see if it could give way and found that it was good and stuck in the ground. Without hesitation, she cut the chain.

" _Fire blade!"_

A well-aimed shot of red lightning cut the anchor clean of its chain. Bloom swam back up to the chaotic surface. The Torchbearer propelled itself forward eagerly, but Bloom saw the real problem.

The hull had been breached by a wayward rock and water eagerly poured into the gash.

She swam after the ship, propelling herself out of the water.

Just then, two colourful dragons of light, one blue and the other gold, danced on the air. They circled the Torchbearer entwining themselves around the hull. The air was hot with power. Bloom looked up and saw Dafne and Marion floating in the air enveloped in auras of gold and blue. They struggled to lift the ship out of the sea with their magic.

She gawked in wonder at the sight for only a moment and pondered the immensity of their strength. Water sluiced down the sides of the Torchbearer.

Bloom joined them and concentrated her magic. She gathered it into her heart before releasing it.  _"_ _Dragon_ _wing!_ _"_

A red orange apparition of long-bodied dragon appeared in an explosion of light and joined the two other apparitions. Bloom gasped at the weight of the ship, trying to shoulder as much as she could. It took all of her concentration to keep the serpentine ghost alive as well as herself fluttering in the air.

Marion guided the flying ship out of the waters and towards the shore. The Torchbearer landed with a thunderous thud on the clifftop of a sheer outcropping over the ocean. The boat shifted to its side. Its pristine sides were marred with dirt and scarred by half-buried boulders. It moaned under its own weight.

Never without a weapon, Oritel leapt out of the ship with a sword in hand. The family gathered at the stern of the ship as the crew unboarded.

Once her feet touched ground, Bloom found herself buried in Marion's arms. The woman in her arms trembled violently like a glass teetering on its rims.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" her mother mumbled hoarsely. "You shouldn't have come."

Bloom turned to Dafne uneasily.

"Are you alright, Dad?" Dafne asked methodically.

"I'm fine, darling." Oritel pecked her forehead. "What's happening on the shore?"

"The city is on alert. I think they're going to mobilise the army."

"Good. King Teredor and King Neptune can take care of the monster. It's probably another wild sea monster that got loose. Let's get back to the embassy." Business-like, Oritel roused the men into formation.

Dafne stepped into line with her father and the others. Bloom saw a listlessness in her eyes that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Mom, um, I'm going to go help the people out now," Bloom mumbled into her mother's ear. She pointed to the other ships still in distress in the cove.

Marion stilled. She wanted to say something to stop her, but she did not. She untangled herself from Bloom, recomposing herself. "Go. I have to stay here with your father and sister."

"You're not going to stop me?" Bloom said in surprise.

Marion looked on to Dafne. She knew that Bloom was looking at her as well. "If you think what you're doing is right, then go do it."

"Dafne…?" Bloom said. She looked at her sister one last time. She wanted to say something, but she had no idea what. She was sure that anything she said would not mean much to Dafne. She nodded to her mom and took off into the air.

"Where's Bloom going?" Dafne asked her mother.

"To do what she always does."

* * *

 **Note:** I know I alluded to Politea appearing in this chapter and I am sorry to disappoint. I had to cut it here because it turned out into its own little chapter. I promise you that Politea along with  **The Last Nymph of Ethemera** will appear in the next chapter.


	6. Duty of Cowards

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own or profit from the Winx Club properties by writing this story. This story is written for pleasure's sake. All rights reserved.

 **Fore Note:**  So this chapter is going a little longer than expected. I have to break it into parts. Excuse all the detours.

* * *

Sky looked back and forth between the flaming cove behind him and the Eraklyonite chancery that stood atop a hilltop property ahead of him. He could barely breathe. He held his reigns tightly, his knuckles turning white. He was shocked by his own compliance to leave his parents behind to their demise. He wanted so badly to turn back and fight the monster attacking the Andromachus.

Diaspro sat tensely in her seat in front of him. "We shouldn't be doing this," she said. "We shouldn't have left them."

"They are the king and queen. We do as they will it," Sky said. He did not have much else to say other than the obvious truth. It was their duty to assure the line of succession and that meant leaving their king behind.

"They are your parents," she jabbed.

Sky winced and then his temper flared at her words. He gritted his teeth before he said anything snide. He was a prince and he was above such low behaviour. "You think I forgot that, Diaspro? I didn't want to leave them anymore than you did."

"If your dad dies, you become king," she reminded rather unpleasantly. Her words cut like a knife in his heart. He hated every time someone spoke about his father like that. It reminded him too much about his father's fragile mortality. "If your dad doesn't die tonight," she continued, "you're still going to be king. And what are we doing? Making a 'tactical retreat.' We're running away like cowards."

"Diaspro, watch your tone," Sky reprimanded tightly.

He knew that she knew all about war tactics. She was trained just like he was. King Erendor and Queen Samara had fostered her three out of the four seasons of the year for more than ten years. She had been the sister he never had and she had almost been his bride. She knew about the quiet unrest that was slinking about the empire. She knew very well what she was saying was pointless.

She turned her head back to him. Her eyes were wide with emotion, full of fear and dread. "What are you going to do when we land?" she asked.

"I'm going back for them of course."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not. You're staying in the embassy, Diaspro. I'm not risking you," he said. His parents would never forgive him if something happened to her no matter what she had done, which is why he planned on keeping her away from the danger.

Diaspro stilled, shocked by the fact that he had not included her in his rescue plan. She clenched her fists, incensed by his need to confine her like an animal. "You are not locking me up in a room with a bunch of your mother's ladies-in-waiting!" she yelled indignantly.

"You  _are_  my mother's lady-in-waiting and I am your prince, Diaspro," he reminded tersely. "I'm not putting you in danger."

"Sky, I'm not this thing to be coddled. I have a duty to the king and queen, too! I'm not going to sit around and do nothing."

"You forfeited your right to duty when you betrayed us for Valtor!" he growled angrily, annoyed at her constant smart replies.

She turned silent at his tone and she hunched her shoulders.

"Valtor wanted my father killed twenty years ago so that he would not come to Domino's defense. My mother and father took you in and raised you themselves rather than let you become the toy of those pretenders who claim to be your parents," Sky reminded firmly. He stopped himself from saying any more. He knew he would regret it. "You are staying put. You are staying in the chancery under lock and key."

Once upon a time, Sky thought he knew Diaspro. He thought he had understood her despite their differences and despite the distance that had grown between them during his time in Magix. Bloom had been his mistake and they had gotten over it. At least, he thought so. He had his doubts about Diaspro. Her recent conduct in front of all the sovereigns at the Sovereigns Council was a shame that would live with his family and empire for years.

The girl in front of him simmered. "Don't lecture me on duty and family, Sky. When you were away studying at Red Fountain, I performed your duties. I helped your parents run the kingdom. I fought the rebellions in the smaller kingdoms with your father when you were off galavanting in Magix with Bloom. You only care about this family when they're about to die and you're about to be king."

Sky flinched. She was right about what he had done, but wrong at the same time. He cared about his family very much, just like any good son. He worried about his parents health and their advancing age. He worried about the strain of their duties on their bodies and souls, especially when he was in Magix. He just never dared to show such weakness to anybody.

Diaspro continued her tirade. "When your parents were injured in that plane crash, you brought Bloom home with you for what? Comfort? What about me? What about the rest of us? We didn't have time for comfort. War would have broken out in the empire if your father had succumbed to the poison. You left for a Magix faster than a spell as soon as the danger was over. You didn't stay to take over as your father's regent. You didn't even stay to make sure that your parents healed. The king had broken three of his ribs and fractured his arm! It was me who spent weeks nursing them and hovering over them, not you, Sky."

Sky's grip tightened on his reigns. "Diaspro, what do you think I do in Magix? I didn't just stay at Red Fountain and flounce around with girls. I had a job to do at Lightrock for the king and queen, too. I had responsibilities in Magix."

"Right, right, you were our beloved representative within the Council of Magix," Diaspro hissed insultingly.

" _Diaspro!"_  Sky growled. "You think I tramp around in the whore houses and gamble my money? I had to work hard at school and be the best at everything because was it was expected of me, because I was a prince and the son of a glorious warrior king. It wasn't easy for me to leave home either, especially when war was breaking out every month in one kingdom or another. I didn't want to leave for school. I wanted to stay and join the army and fight, but I didn't get that choice because mother and father thought it was inappropriate for the next king of Eraklyon to not at least have a diploma from a reputable school. Everything I did was for the reputation of our king and kingdom.

"I made a mistake with Bloom, and I'm sorry for jilting you like that, I really am, Diaspro. I know you absolutely hate me. I am the lowest of scum to you and I'm sure that you will never forgive me because you think everything I say is a lie. I don't know how else I can apologise and make it up to you."

Sky's grip on his reins was so tight that he was sure that he was drawing blood. At the very least, his palms felt a burning sensation and a numbness in his fingers. He despised how she could easily get under his skin. His hands shook.

Sky did not shake because he was angry. He shook because he was guilty for turning Diaspro into what she was.

This girl, she infuriated him. The sweet thing that he once grew up with had gone away and died somewhere. What came back was a harpy that stood in his way at every corner. She pecked at him and questioned him. She insulted him and plotted against him. People now whispered "traitor" and "witch" around her. The things that she had done, the things that _he_  had done, the distance that was between them—it was all insurmountable now. He had only gone away for a short time and the Diaspro he knew was gone. He knew that he the reason for the insidious thing she had become.

The princess kept silent until Aurora touched down on the cobblestone path inside an Eraklyonite courtyard garden, Sky jumped down and Diaspro slipped down Aurora's side.

He glanced at her face and saw a storm of tumultuous emotions brew beneath her brows.

"Sky, I don't hate you," she said.

Sky stilled, as if he had misheard. He regarded her, looked at her face for clues to her emotions. He saw raw rage, bottomless sadness and utter confusion. He could not fathom her feelings. He looked to her expectantly.

She took a deep breath, as if sighing to herself. "I don't hate you," she said again. She looked like she wanted to say more. She did not.

The prince was not sure of what to make of this admission from her. "Neither do I," he replied. "I don't hate you; never did. I never meant to hurt you, Diaspro."

Diaspro shook her head in disbelief and this made him wince. She crossed her arms, as if cold or vulnerable. She looked to her feet. She had abandoned her shoes not that long ago on the Thunder Spirit to help Sky carry his injured father. "You always tell me that."

"And you don't believe me," he said. "I can live with your hate. I deserve that much from you."

Sky turned and headed for the royal residence before he said anything stupid. His emotions were jumbled and he knew he would say the wrong thing. He felt rotten inside for lashing out at her. His regrets were coming back to the surface and he steadily trampled them down. His own feelings could not get in the way of his father's rescue and he had no time to grovel for her forgiveness.

Inside the residence, Sky and Brandon were greeted by the king's officials and guards who turned to the prince for their next plan of action. Sky turned to Diaspro, making sure she had followed them inside.

The girl was gone.

* * *

 **Note:**  The assassination that Diaspro is referring to is a story in the comics called "Suspicion and Deceit" (issue 45). You can read it at Winx Comics on Livejournal.


	7. The Last Nymph of Ethemera

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or profit from the Winx Club properties by writing this story. This story is written for pleasure's sake. All rights reserved.

 **Fore note:** The long awaited chapter finally arrives! Thanks to everyone who reviewed: sigourney, Ella Anders and thewanderingoutsider!

* * *

Politea regarded the destruction in the cove with her arms crossed. She was on the war path and the efforts of the Androsian navy that had been patrolling the outer reaches of the capital had been obliterated by her and Aristote. Their weapons could do nothing against the thick hide of the black beast and their watered-down magic was for the most part ineffective. She knew that somewhere in this city was the traitorous fairy princess.

Aristote scorched the decks of the Andromachus and crewman dove into the water to avoid the fire.

The Andromachus cracked in half and sunk down until the wraparound decks were submerged. It rolled to its side and groaned. Politea and her beast abandoned the ship, leaving it as a warning to those who would get in their way, and moved forward into the crescent cove eyeing the smaller ships. Some of them had been smart to aim for the sea and calmer waters but it also meant running into them. One ship treaded near the edge of the cove, just out of the corner of their eye. It was a rather large one, with three decks and drifting dangerously close to the rocky shores.

Aristote waded through the shallow depths, cornering it.

"Get away from them!" someone yelled.

Without warning, Politea saw six blinding white stars of energy shoot for her. Too late to counter, she felt explosions rocket sharp pellets into her and the light burn her.

The Serenian raised a wall of water to absorb the barrage of projectiles. Letting the barrier fall, Politea shook off her confusion and looked for the assailant. Aristote roared ferociously, loud enough to shatter bones.

A second barrage of white crystals and light came and forced them to retreat back out of the cove. They were not the fireworks from the fallen ships or any form of magitech weaponry. They were thoroughly made of magic, cold and sharp yet blistering with energy.

" _Rippling reflection."_ Politea fluttered forward and conjured a wall of light to defend her dragon. She was pushed back by the barrage.

The assaults continued without end and rose to a crescendo in intensity. Just when she thought she might tire of the endless attack, the barraged stopped. Politea looked in the distance past the flickering white spots in her vision. Her eyes still trying to adjust, she saw an ephemeral vision of flowing beige finery that moved like sand washing up on the shore.

The vision wore the cerulean clothe of the nymphs. Her blonde hair had been pushed behind her ears and her face had been hidden behind a mask, like all the nymphs of Ethemera. Her wings refracted moonlight and gave her an enchanting glow.

"Dafne!" Politea called out, but tensed for an attack when she saw Dafne prepare a spell.

Dafne was raised her arms above her, exuding her great power.

The earth below the sea quaked and shook like nothing the capital city had ever experienced before. Coral and seaweed were dislodged and uprooted. The sea parted. Water swelled. Politea's eyes widened as she felt the majestic power. A viscous great power welled under the sand and rock. It stretched from one end of the cove to the other like the fire.

" _Diamond defense!_ " the nymph called out.

A wall of crystalline rock rose from the ocean glittering like one million stars glued to a sheet of canvas and obscuring the view of the city like a stage curtain right in front of Politea. She came to a sudden stop before the wall. Aristote let out a sonorous growl of disappointment that had effectively blocked him from the cove and city.

A wall, no matter how tall, still was not going to stop them from finding Dafne.

* * *

On the other side, the cove's waters calmed. The wall prevented rogue waves from forming, letting the ships regain their bearings. The fires from the Andromachus still raged on both sides but they had been effectively cut down to small manageable flames.

Bloom, floating in the water with a shivering thirteen year old in her arms, regarded the immensity of the wall that had been grown out of the sea. She had thought that her mother and Dafne's magic was great, she could not imagine what the magic of the being that had conjured the wall was like.

The child in her arms coughed up more water as Bloom swam for the Androsian coast guard ship that was picking up survivors. Kicking herself out of the water, she carried the kid to the ship and left her in the capable hands of the crewmen. She was exhausted beyond belief. Ever since she had gained her Sirenix powers, her stamina to keep up her magic form had taken a nosedive. She always knew that her fire magic would not be most effective in the water, but simply keeping up the energy to retain her Sirenix form and resist the harsh environment of the sea was enough to make her feel faint.

Bloom marched on, returning to her task.

" _Fire catcher!"_

She glided over the chemical fires absorbed the flames into the fire in her heart reducing them to lifeless sparks. They empowered her and warmed her, but only slightly, only enough to keep her going.

"Bloom!"

Bloom turned to see Aisha's shimmering form racing towards her. The dark-skinned girl's face was harried with worry. Not far behind, Roy followed on his windrider. He had forgone his cape and helmet. His blond hair was stuck to his head, slick with sea water from an obvious recent swim in the ocean.

"Aisha, do you know what's going on?" Bloom asked.

"My father and King Neptune are trying to get everyone back into the city," Aisha said. "The mermen guards are trying to find people below." The dark princess was breathless, likely from running away trying to do her duties and help people.

"And the wall?" Bloom pointed to the glittering structure behind her.

"We don't know who did that."

"There must be another fairy or witch somewhere," Bloom said.

"Roy and I are going over the wall to get survivors from the Andromachus," Aisha said.

"Do you know where the other girls are? Did you see my parents? Where are Mike and Vanessa?"

"Stella brought them back to Domino's embassy. They're safe."

Bloom let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"And where's Dafne? I thought you went to see her," Aisha questioned. "I thought that with her magic, she made the wall. Where is she?"

"She's with Oritel and Marion trying to get back to the embassy. Where are the other girls?"

"I'm not sure. I can't get in touch with them. I gave my communicator to Roxy. She's going to get whales to pick up survivors on the other side of the wall. We're going to meet her now."

"With that dragon-thing on the other side?" Bloom gasped.

"That's why we're going to meet her now," Aisha reassured.

"Then I'm coming with you. Morgana would never forgive us if something happened to her."

"I know."

The trio flew over the water. Bloom killed any of the remaining fires with Aisha's help along the way although the fire fairy was far from making an impact on the blaze that lit the sea red and orange. They ascended up the side of the smooth crystalline wall and sucked in a breath when their eyes fell on the shipwrecked Andromachus.

The Andromachus had been split in two and fire spilled from its sides. Then they looked on to the sea dragon that waded impatiently in the shallow depths around the wall. The heat was searing for Aisha and Roy but Bloom did not notice it.

"That thing isn't from Andros," Roy said, eyeing the beast. Aisha nodded in acquiescence, although she and Bloom had an idea of where it came from.

The beast looked like a creature that had come the deepest and darkest part of the Infinite Ocean. It oozed primordial power and looked like it had been carved from stone and smoothed by the ocean currents.

"I'll try to draw the monster away," Bloom said.

"We'll go help the survivors and Roxy. Be careful," Aisha warned.

"Right."

Bloom flew off. She approached the dragon carefully. She knew better than to attack it outright. She was not sure of what it was capable and she did not want to be the one to find out.

"The red hair is new. It's like your baby sister's," a cold voice said. The sound brought to mind the image of a glaciers.

Bloom shuddered, as if the chill of winter suddenly appeared. She turned looking for the voice's owner.

"Show yourself!" Bloom called out warily with balls of fire igniting in her hands.

A dark form revealed itself, as if the night sky had been its cloak. Splashes of red and white came to life and bioluminescent spots glinted off her like stars. Bunches of foam-like white silk gathered around her waist and fell to her ankles. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a high queue beaded with pearls.

She had piercing green gaze and pink lips curled into a smile that one could not forget.

Bloom saw the wings on the other woman's back. They were fin-like with protruding spines of red with black-rimmed white spots. They were the wings of a Sirenix fairy.

"Who are you?" Bloom asked. "What do you want?"

The woman's brow arched. She circled Bloom like a predator taking in its prey. "Do I really need to introduce myself?"

Bloom eyed the other woman thinking that she was supposed to recognise her.

The woman smiled. It was a dangerous smile that chilled the air between them.

Bloom dodged a wild spell and responded with a storm of flames. The new fairy flicked her wrist and the fires disappeared. Bloom tensed, sensing imminent danger. She did not like her odds against the new fairy.

"Fire is not going to do anything against me," the dark woman responded eyeing the fireball in Bloom's hand.

"Then try this!  _Blooming ice!_ " Bloom conjured knives of ice and launched them at the woman. Bloom retreated and tried to put some distance between her and her new attacker.

"You're not getting away from me!"

Before Bloom could turn, she felt a cold hard whip wrap around her leg and pull her back down to the sea. She beat her wings harder as she tried to struggle her. A sinuous whip of water acted of its accord and threw her across the sky. Everything blurred by her as she was pulled back to the furious black and red fairy.

The dark fairy cast another spell and this time, ethereal rings of energy surrounded Bloom and closed in on her like ropes that tied her arms to her side and bound her wings still. They held her up to the dark fairy and kept her from falling. Bloom struggled, gritting her teeth, and felt the bonds tighten around her painfully with every squirm.

"What in the hell do you want from me?" Bloom spat out.

"I want you to pay for letting the Ancestral Witches into the Infinite Ocean."

"I didn't do anything!"

The strange fairy paused and then brought Bloom close. She raised a hand to Bloom's face, holding it in place with an iron grip. Bloom looked into the fairy's face, trying to recognise her.

The angry Sirenix fairy had eyes coloured like opals that made her soul shake. They were hypnotising and Bloom could see the colour change between green and blue like ripples in a crystal clear ocean. They were large and they had once been inquisitive like a cat's. Time had aged them and turned them into the gaze of a hungry tiger. They narrowed when they saw Bloom's blue eyes.

"You're not Dafne," the fairy growled.

Bloom stiffened. The red Sirenix fairy's name was on her tongue.

"And yet, you have Dafne's powers," she continued, smiling and arching a brow. "I can feel the fire of the Great Dragon in you. I know who you are."

The dark fairy circled Bloom in the air, examining her face, her wings, her form, even the crystal heart-shaped pendant around her neck. Bloom bared her teeth defensively when the red Sirenix fairy touched the pendant.

"What do you want?" Bloom questioned.

"I want the nymph Dafne. I'm told that Witches' curse on me was broken not that long ago. It should be the same for Dafne. Apparently, I spent twenty years as a dragon in a cave eating selkies while Dafne stayed at the bottom of Roccaluce as a ghost."

Bloom's eyes widened as her heart fell to her stomach. "Who are you?" she asked again, this time afraid. Recognition dawned on her mind as she remembered her trance in the Room of Faraway Reflections.

The other woman fluttered closer, smiling with bright white teeth. She brought a hand to Bloom's throat, her sharp nails tickling her. She held the red-haired girl at arms length in an iron-like grip. She saw horror of recognition on Bloom's face. "I am Politea, one of your sister's oldest friends. Now, tell me: where is Dafne, Little Laurel?"

"What makes you think that I'm Dafne's sister?"

"Don't think I don't know what Dafne did to save you. She poured all of the Great Dragon's magic into you before she sent you away to some random world. She left herself powerless and unable to defend herself or the Infinite Ocean. I know what the burn of the Dragon Flame is." Politea's voice rose sharply with ever word. "She did everything that was against her vow and chose to be your father's weapon of war and be your  _very best big sister._ She made her choice. Now, she has to deal with the consequences," she said acidly.

"You betrayed Dafne! You let the witches curse her! She only tried to save her family!" Bloom shouted. "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her! You don't know what she had to go through. You just left her to die!"

"Don't tell me what I did and didn't do.  _I was there!_ " Politea screamed, tightening her grip on Bloom. Politea's anger simmered and cooled, realising that her display was unladylike. "Now, tell me: where is the nymph hiding?"

A shiver ran down Bloom's spine at Politea's cool rage. The hatred in Politea's words burned her ears. Bloom struggled between telling a lie and telling the truth.

"You want a nymph?! You've got one!" said a voice from above.

A whisper of a willowy golden gown flashed by Bloom, pushing Politea out of the way and knocking Bloom out of the dark nymph's grasp. Bloom struggled, breaking her magical bonds, and fluttered her wings before she fell into the ocean.

Politea spiralled out of control in the air and tried to find her bearings. She straightened and set her sights on the golden nymph. She prepared a volley of blue lances and launched them.  _"Blue crush!"_

" _Dragon's embrace!"_  Bloom cast around her sister. The effort, which was herculean, drained her, but she felt tremendous, glad that Dafne had come.

The orange barrier encompassed Dafne and when it died, Dafne countered Politea's attack with one of her own.

Her sister wore a new form, a glorious golden form with wings that glowed. It was not the power of Sirenix but something sacred and nymph-like. Her blond hair was longer and fell like a fountain of waves. Her dress was different, long enough to have a trail but with a cut up her side that reached to her hip revealing her long legs. Drapped across her arms was a blue green scarf. The mask she wore was new, made of porcelain and painted with gold. She floated like a flower dancing on the air.

Politea clenched her hands and let out a roar of fury. "You! Omnia was wrong about you!"

Dafne did not answer. Instead, she summoned a dozen shards of light around her and launched them at Politea. Bloom whirled around the sky and bathed the sky in fire. The sisters traded blows with Politea, but Politea was tireless as was Dafne. Bloom on the other hand was not.

Starting to feel the full drain of her powers, Bloom's attacks became infrequent. She dodged attacks as they came. A hot blast of fire from behind told her that Politea's beast was still in action.

Aristote flared its fins and let out another blast of fire at Bloom. She knew that she would not be able to beat it down or befriend it the way Cordatorta had taught them. Instead, she ran, or rather flew away, leading it on a chase. Since she was smaller, she was much more nimble than the beast and could take sharp turns at any time.

She flew in any and every direction, trying to outfly it. She zigzagged, dodging blasts, and called up her friends on the wrist communicators given to them by Tecna.

"Roxy! Aisha!" Bloom shouted over the whirring wind. "I need your help! I'm trying to outrun a monster! Dafne and Politea are fighting just outside the wall."

"Politea? Who's that?" Roxy asked.

"Dafne's old friend and she's out to get her for something."

"On our way!" Stella and the others answered back without question.

Without warning, Bloom felt hot air tickle her wings. She turned and saw the beast with its wide jaws on her. She looked forward and saw the wall suddenly appear in front of her. She pulled eject on her manoeuvre and came to a stop before she smashed into the wall.

Suddenly, she found herself surrounded in a moist darkness and she realised her mistake. She heard a thunderous heart beat and a chilling growl. She was in the mouth of Politea's monster. It had swallowed her.

"Oh God!" she shouted as she forced her wings to keep her afloat and out of the thing's belly. The beast's tongue moved under her. Its horrid sulfuric breath made her want to wretch. It was something akin to stepping in a pool of rotten eggs. Heart pounding against her ribcage, she clawed her way forward towards what she thought were teeth long as her arms.

There, she could gasp for fresh air through the gaps

The golden nymph gasped. "Bloom!"

Politea gathered her dark hair over one shoulder and delighted in Aristote's catch. She let out a hearty laugh, never having imagined that such a triumph over Dafne.

The gold nymph let out a cry before letting her hands fall to her sides, glowering at Politea. "Let her go!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't take orders from you," Politea said, waving a finger.

"Why are you doing this?" Dafne asked.

"Did you forget everything in those twenty years at the bottom of Lake Roccaluce, Dafne? You made a choice. You made it very clear what you thought was important. Besides you, I am the only nymph of Ethemera left and it my duty to punish you for what you have done."

"How dare you call yourself a nymph! You attacked innocent people during a celebration. A nymph protects, not destroys. A nymph defends the innocent, not attack them at their weakest!" Dafne pointed to the burning scene around her. The diamond wall was behind her and just below her was the wrecked Andromachus.

"A nymph doesn't betray the good gods in favour for the witch gods either! I know what are precepts of the nymphs and I think I'm allowed to break a few rules to round up a traitor like you." Politea hissed.

The golden nymph kept silent.

"Dafne!" came from behind. It was Stella and she was not alone.

Six glowing fairies zoomed across the sky like glittering stars. They were five fin-winged fairies and a pink-haired green one. Stella flew to Dafne's side immediately and the rest flanked them in a defensive line.

"Where's Bloom?" Stella asked from the corner of her mouth.

"Bloom is with Aristote," Politea answered. Aristote, the sea dragon, let out a low growl as it waded in the water behind Politea. "He has yet to swallow her whole, and if you want her back, you'll do as I say."

"You! Who are you?" Aisha asked.

"I am Politea and I am the Guardian Fairy of the Infinite Ocean. I am the Protector of the World Pillars."

"You're the one that betrayed Dafne!" Stella shouted. "I know all about you! How dare you show your face around here! You are nothing but a fraud!"

Politea crossed her arm. "Is that how she tells the story?" she said in disdain. She turned to Dafne. "This boils down to your little darling sister  _again_ , Dafne. I'll make a deal. You in exchange for your sister."

"As if!" Musa hissed.

"How dare you attack my home!" Aisha said indignantly. "There's seven of us and one of you. You're not in a position to make demands."

Politea eyed the girls' audacity and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. Aristote, eat her."

Aristote rolled his jaw, preparing to swallow.

"No!" Dafne cried out. "Don't! I'll do what you say! Don't eat her!"

The other fairies stilled for a moment. They had been prepared to fight but they stood awed by Dafne's sudden submission.

"What?" Stella whispered harshly. She caught the nymph by the arm. "You don't know if she'll keep her word."

"I know, but I don't want Bloom to get hurt either…." Dafne struggled to finish her words.

"But **—** " Stella tried to continue.

Dafne approached the red and black fairy with her hands up in the air in supplication. She showed that her hands were free of magic.

Ethereal white bindings strong as iron appeared and surrounded Dafne. They crushed her arms to her side and clipped her wings.

"Let Bloom go," the nymph sputtered.

Politea flashed a smug smile. She turned to the dragon and signaled the beast to open its jaw. It dipped its head down and spat out a limp blue form into the water.

Aisha and Stella flew down to retrieve Bloom, hooking one of the fire fairy's arms around their necks. Aisha revived her with a spell.  _"Vital beat."_

Bloom moaned. She looked around and saw her friends around her. "I'm so glad you guys are here. Where's Dafne?"

The other fairies pointed with their eyes at the tense exchange. Dafne was now Politea's hostage.

"No! What's going on?" Bloom asked. "How did Politea get to her? She'll kill her!"

Politea brought Dafne close to her. The nymph did not struggle when Politea brought a hand to her face.

The Serenian turned to the other fairies and regarded them with disdain. All but one of them wore the wings of a Sirenix fairy and they all eyed her as the enemy. "You come after me and I will destroy her on the spot," she threatened to the others. Politea whirled a finger and the bindings around Dafne tightened, making her cry out when the pain became too much.

Politea gathered her powers and opened a Sirenix gate behind her.

"I used to think that you were a good person in this mad chaos, Dafne. I really did," Politea reminisced coolly. Then, as if disappointed in herself for making a bad decision and burdened by its consequences, Politea sighed. "I wish that Omnia never gave you the powers of Sirenix and I wish I never consecrated you as the Supreme Nymph, Dafne. I can tell now that it was too much to ask of you. You aren't worthy of their traditions. A nymph wears her mask when she finally understands the nature of her duties to the gods, no matter how hard they are."

None too gently, the Serenian ripped the mask off of Dafne's face. Politea froze and accidentally dropped the mask into the sea. Her eyes widened when she saw deep brown jasper eyes stare back at her.

This nymph was not Dafne.

Everyone saw Politea's surprise and recognised the fairy in her clutches.

"Who are you?!" Politea shouted in horror.

The golden nymph regarded Politea contemptuously. "I am Diaspro, the fairy of all earthly wealth, the guardian of Eraklyon and her realms. And according to everything I heard, I am the real last nymph of Ethemera," she gritted.

Everyone stared on in shock. Bloom almost forgot how to fly.

"What is Diaspro doing here?" Stella cried out.

"If that was her, there where is Dafne?" Bloom clamped down on her dislike for the jewel fairy. This former-princess fairy had no place here. What was she doing here?

From behind, the Winx Club fairies heard the wings of Eraklyonite dragons. They looked behind to see a dragoon of dragons come down from above the high diamond wall in full armour. Sky led the charge atop his blue-scaled beauty Aurora.

"Sky?" Bloom asked astounded.

"What happened here?" Sky demanded, seeing Diaspro in Politea's clutches, as the rest of the dragoon charged for Aristote.

Just then, energy spewed forth from the Sirenix gate that engulfed them in pure white light. Everyone was blinded by the eruption of light and energy from the portal.

 _"Double eclipse!"_ Stella shrouded everyone in a shield.

The maw of the portal fractured. The sound it made sounded like glass breaking and it pierced their eardrums. Despite being airborne, they felt the energies of the world shake and falter. The edges of the aperture began to crack and break away, revealing an oddly shaped portal of light that began to drink in the sea of Andros greedily. Each crack shook their bones and pounded at their senses.

As the light abated, the Winx Club saw a tattered orange form swim out of the light. Behind it, a large mass of blackness followed. They saw teeth and scales and heard a roar that blasted them to the diamond wall behind them. A second dragon, equally big and terrifying as Politea's Aristote, was slowly making its way out of the Sirenix Gate and coming after the slender orange being.

Omnia came to an abrupt stop, nearly crashing into the Winx Club. She was bruised and battered. She was short of breath, huffing and puffing. The selkie guardian gathered her will and her powers, raising her hands up to the gaping Sirenix Gate. Then she began to push back the powerful energies of the Infinite Ocean back into the portal.

Her powers, vast as all the oceans of the magical universe, could move worlds and stars.

Sky moved out of the way of Stella's barrier and pressed forward towards the portal.

"Sky, what are you doing?" Bloom yelled after him.

"Getting Diaspro!" He had a sinking feeling. He could feel the power of the portal pull in everything. He urged Aurora to fly for Diaspro's shadowed form in the blinding light.

Brandon went after the prince without hesitation. Bloom hesitated for a moment before going after Sky as well. No matter how much she disliked Diaspro, the jewel fairy had traded herself for Bloom and Bloom could not ignore that fact, at least for Sky's sake.

Sky's mount hesitated but was reassured by his steely firmness to press on into chaos. They sped forward and Sky reached forward towards Diaspro with an extended arm. Diaspro could barely move with Politea's ethereal restraints on her wings and arms.

"Diaspro!" he yelled.

"Sky, you idiot!" she screamed back. "Go back!"

Out of sheer will, Omnia pushed Aristote and Platon, Politea's guardian beasts, back into the portal, regardless of their resistance. It was as if an invisible hand had picked them up and tossed them in. Politea's held the greatest resistance against the powers that pushed her into the gate and the powers that pulled her into it. She beated her wings as hard as she could until she was swept up into the portal, along with her captive.

"Omnia, what are you doing?" Stella cried out as the portal began to close.

"Sending Politea back," the selkie said.

"But what about Sky and—?" Stella said too late.

Suddenly, the light and the Sirenix Gate disappeared in a flicker of light.

Sky reached forward to catch Diaspro but she disappeared with the light. She was gone into the portal. The prince and his dragon came to an abrupt stop. Brandon and his mount Yseult as well as Bloom dodged Sky and halted, suddenly confusd by the disappearance of the Sirenix Gate.

The sky cleared up of its magic and the seas became calm. The fires still raged and the diamond wall still obscured the cove and the capital city of Andros. The pitch of the city's warning sirens reached them. As the Winx Club looked on in wonder and confusion at the sudden turn of events, Omnia lost her strength and suddenly began to fade into an immaterial state. The selkie closed her eyes in repose and disappeared, drained of her power.

 _"Sirenix Gate!"_  Bloom began to conjure the portal to the Infinite Ocean. She gathered her magic and created the portal. Hastily, light gathered in a ring but then it exploded into fire.

 _"Sirenix Gate!"_  Bloom tried again and her conjuration backfired again and burst into light and fire. The Sirenix gate was not forming.

 _"Sirenix Gate!"_  Bloom tried a third time but then her wings faded as she realised that she was no longer able to keep up her Sirenix form. Her wings disappeared completely and she started to fall.

* * *

**Note:**  So, this is the deal maker or breaker chapter. Are you with me after reading this? Yes? Good!

I know everyone was not as developed and the POV changed a lot between characters. I know that there was a lot I could have done to improve this. I'm curious what people think I should have worked on. I know it was a collision of characters and a little (very) messy. However, it was either have this mess or never publish it at all.

What will become of Politea and Diaspro? What about the sisters Dafne and Bloom? And what was Diaspro doing in the middle of battle? Why did she risk herself for Bloom? What scheme does she have up her sleeve now? Next chapter: **The Prince Regent**.


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